Buildings, such as livestock confinement buildings, often include at least one vent opening closed off by at least one movable vent door which opens and closes to permit air to exit and/or enter the building. By opening and closing the door, or doors, ventilation of the interior of the building and also the temperature of the interior of the building can be controlled. Vent controller apparatus may be provided to maintain the vent door or doors in a desired position. Some vent controller apparatus are manually operated, others may be automatically operated. The building vents may be positionable in a plurality of positions between fully closed and fully opened.
Some of the buildings that include vents, including livestock confinement buildings, sometimes locate the vents at the peak or ridge of the roof of the building. These vents may also be referred to as ridge vents. In some cases, the ridge vents include opposing doors which are opened and closed simultaneously to ventilate the building and control the temperature of air within the building. Some ridge vent systems include ridge vent doors which extend substantial lengths along the peak of the roof. In some cases, the ridge vent doors may extend along the peak of the roof for several hundred feet. A common length for the vent doors is 8 feet. Sometimes splicers are used to connect adjacent sets of vent doors to form continuous lengths of vent doors. These long doors may be difficult to open and close properly due to their length. Further, since the vent doors are typically located at the peak of the roof, the vent doors are typically difficult to reach and operate properly Space concerns may also be a problem in the peak region of the roof.
In the case of livestock confinement buildings, it is important that the temperature be controlled within the building. Livestock typically cannot withstand temperatures outside a range of temperatures. Temperatures too warm or too cold could be harmful or deadly to the livestock. The temperature inside a livestock containment building is influenced by the temperature and weather conditions outside the building. The temperature inside the building is also influenced by the livestock inside the building. Because of varying conditions inside and outside the building, proper vent positioning may vary from day to day and also during the day. For manually positionable vents, the livestock owner must check on the temperature of the building periodically and make adjustments to the vent positioning as needed. To save time and money for the livestock owner, automatic temperature control is desirable.
Some vent controller apparatus exist which permit automatic opening and closing of the ridge vent doors based on temperature sensed inside the building. Some automatic systems are pneumatically operated. The vent controller apparatus may contain a pneumatically operated device for opening and closing one or more doors connected to the device. For the purpose of operating a long vent door, these pneumatically operated vent controller apparatus have been placed at periodic intervals along the ridge vent doors to facilitate proper opening and closing of the ridge vent door or doors.
Known vent controller apparatus have several problems, including being costly to manufacture and install, being difficult to adjust and maintain once installed, and being difficult to arrange and maintain to coordinate movement when opening a long continuous ridge vent door or doors or operating simultaneously a plurality of doors in a line.
Other mechanisms are known for opening and closing vent doors, windows, and other doors. However, the mechanisms do not permit easy manufacture, installation, and operation, especially in the case of using the apparatus to operate at least one, and preferably two ridge vent doors extending along the peak of a roof of a livestock confinement building.
It is clear that there is a long felt need for a ventilation system including a vent controller apparatus which easily and efficiently permits operation of one vent door, or two opposing vent doors, positioned along the roof of a building.